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WINTER IN THE SNOW

WINTER IN THE SNOW; Action On and Off the Slopes

By STANLEY CARR

Published: November 17, 1991

SKI resorts around the country have become more enterprising than ever, improving their areas and services and offering deals in the face of recession and a dip in the number of skiers. According to a survey done for the United Ski Industries Association, there were 46.7 million skier visits last winter compared with more than 50 million in 1989-90 and 53.3 million in 1988-89.

Ski classes are becoming more scientific with a new crop of names. Sunday River, Me., for example, offers instruction called the Perfect Turn; Steamboat, Colo., has the Billy Kidd Center for Performance Skiing; and in Vermont, Mount Snow beckons with EXCL, standing for express customized learning, while Bolton Valley teaches the Effortless Turning Concept.

Deals that reduce the cost of the full-day lift ticket are spreading across the country. Stowe, Vt., sells a $99 book of 12 coupons each redeemable for a 50 percent reduction on the $39 any-day ticket. A pay-per-ride lift ticket book at Bromley, Vt., contains 40 coupons for use on lifts at the rate of one to five coupons, depending on the lift ridden. The book costs $50, and $32 for juniors aged 7 to 14, compared with daily ticket prices of $36 and $23 on weekends and holidays and $24 and $13 midweek. (At most ski centers, but not Bromley, junior means aged 6 to 12.) Another Bromley deal: juniors ski free midweek when accompanied by a ticket-buying adult.

At Steamboat, and Sierra Summit, Calif., children under 12 ski and stay free when a parent buys a five-day lift ticket and lodging. Most ski areas offer savings when skiers buy tickets for two or more consecutive days. Skiers should check with ski shops and ski areas for more information on cut-rate special days and programs for specific groups, including seniors and children. On "Forever Young Days" (every Tuesday) at Mount Cranmore, N.H., tickets are half price for anyone over 50.

Investment in snow-making equipment has become essential, even in areas known for high snowfalls. Bear Valley and Boreal in California credit their snow guns with saving their season during last winter's snow drought. Sun Valley, Idaho, says it spent $5.5 million this year boosting its man-made system on Baldy Mountain. Taos, N.M., has added top-to-bottom snow-making on the west side of the mountain.

But carrying out changes to ski resorts is no simple matter these days. Snow-making, which requires drawing on local water supplies, has become a critical issue, effecting fish and sewage disposal. Applications to draw on water sources often involve protracted negotiations. Ski areas are also confronting other environmental concerns. Keystone, Colo., says that the $32 million investment in the mountain's new Outback section being opened this winter includes $3 million spent on protecting and enhancing the quality of water, revegetation, wildlife, wetlands and utilities.

Bruce Watson, general manager of Whitetail, a new area opening next month in Pennsylvania, said that environmental negotiations, hearings, challenges and permit applications stretched over 11 years and cost the owners more than $1 million. The ski area at Loon, N.H., the United Ski Industries Association reports, has spent over $1 million on studies but to date has failed to receive final approval to expand onto the adjacent South Mountain. The association also says that permits to expand facilities were issued this past spring and summer to Okemo, Stowe and Sugarbush in Vermont and Mount Hood Meadows, Oregon, "after a decade of open and expensive discussions between resort owners and preservationists."

The following survey offers a selection of ski areas that offer a lot for both skiers and nonskiers in the West, Northeast and Canada. THE WEST CALIFORNIA

BEAR VALLEY Bear Valley Ski Company, Post Office Box 5038, Bear Valley, Calif. 95223 Information, (209) 753-2301; lodging, (209) 753-6700; snow conditions, (209) 753-2308 On the Slopes Bear Valley, midway between Yosemite National Park and Lake Tahoe, provides excellent skiing conditions without the crowds encountered at Mammoth Mountain to the south or the Lake Tahoe-area resorts to the north. From a summit at 8,495 feet, skiers can choose from 82 runs that total 25 miles. Nine chairlifts take skiers up the mountain (vertical drop, 1,900 feet) and afford views of the Sierra Nevada, with its forest of pine and fir, surrounding the valley. Three surface lifts have been added this year. The runs, which cover more than 1,200 acres, are divided almost equally among beginner, intermediate and expert.

Lift ticket prices: $32 full day; $25 half-day; $25 for ages 13 to 23 with student ID; $16 for skiers 65 and over; $10 for disabled and children aged 7 to 12; $8 children 6 and under. Discounts packages, including lift tickets, equipment rental and lessons, are available for beginners and children.

Ski school begins at $20 for a two-hour group lesson. For racers, personalized coaching begins at $50 for two hours.